


Fighting for Mike

by GachMoBrea



Series: Follow Me on a Merry Spree where Confusion Waits [2]
Category: The Following
Genre: ??? - Freeform, AU, Abduction, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Continuation of an Inspired Work, Dark, FBI, Fighting over Weston (Slightly), Gen, Hardy is very encouraging to Mike, Joe is Mike's DAD, Kidnapping, Lazy Author, Major canon divergence, Manipulation, Murder, OOC, Roderick Dies, Ryan ot the Rescue!, Self-Doubt, Spoiler Tags?, Title Change, WIP, Wrap it up in a Pretty Little Bow..., protective!ryan, some self-doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-12 21:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7949065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This comes after Chapter 2 of the previous work: "The Following Problem". (Where Joe Carroll finds out from Ryan Hardy that Mike Weston is his son.)....<br/>Joe has Roderick kidnap his boy to ask him about Claire....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JoeFandome](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoeFandome/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title Change! Originally Titled "Continuing to Follow" but I didn't like that very much, so I changed it to what it is...

Roderick is driving back to the station when he gets a call.  
"Sheriff speaking."  
"Roderick, I need you to perform a feat I know you are capable of performing."  
"Anything for you, Joe."  
"I know you are on your way to gather intel and offer misdirect to our FBI friends, but if Agent Weston should happen to arrive, could you discreetly encumber him and bring him to the manor?"  
The blonde frowns, "That would be a security risk, Joe. I don't think this is the best time to be kidnapping agents."  
"Let me worry about the risks, Roderick," his mentor chuckles slightly over the line, only adding to his worry. "It is important for me to speak with the lad. So if you would find it within your power to bring him to me, I would be immensely grateful."  
Roderick goes silent, thinking over all the things that could go wrong if he were to do as the man asked.  
"You did say anything," Joe reminds him.  
"Okay," he sighs, hoping he wouldn't run into the agent that night at least. "I'll keep an eye out for your agent."  
"I have complete faith in your abilities." Carroll hangs up.

After speaking with the FBI Agents, Roderick is just starting to think that he'll actually get through the night without having to take any rash risks...But then Agent Weston walks through the door and he inwardly curses his unlucky stars as he ducks into one of the offices and promptly forms a plan.  
He catches the agent's eye and smirks at him, ducking out of the building through the back where his Sheriff's patrol car would be waiting.  
Sure enough, the foolish young agent comes running after him. Alone.  
"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Roderick asks the other man, his back towards him as he opens his trunk. "Near death?"  
"Put your hands in the air," Weston orders and the follower can see the gun pointed at him through the reflection of the mirror.  
"If you kill me," he warns the other carefully, taking out the Taser from the open bag in front of himself. "You'll never know where Joe Carroll is hiding."  
That puts the agent on edge, making his arms lower a little as he nervously looks around for someone to back him up or come up with a Plan B.  
There's no one and Roderick won't allow a chance for any interruptions.  
So when the agent repeats the order with a little less conviction in his voice, Roderick slowly turns towards him so that the other man lowers his weapon some more and he's close enough to Taser the agent and bring the other man to his knees.  
Roderick takes the gun form Weston's spasming hands and pulls the Taser trigger some more until the agent passes out.  
Then he loads the man's body into the trunk and takes off back to the manor.

Joe is waiting for him on the front porch. When Roderick opens his trunk to show him the agent, his mentor smiles so brightly and pulls him into an excited hug.  
"Well done!" Carroll congratulates him. "Please see that the agent is comfortably secured in my drawing room. There's much for him and me to discuss."  
As their leader goes inside, Roderick calls for two men to carry Weston into the desired room. There, he zip ties the agent's wrists and ankles to a chair and waits by the wall to watch his teacher work.

 

Hours later, Mike groans to consciousness with an unpleasant soreness to his chest and an aching headache. He opens his eyes and groans again when he sees Joe Carroll watching him with great interest.  
"Hello again," the cult leader smiles at the agent pleasantly. "How do you feel?"  
Mike doesn't answer him. Instead, he takes his time looking the room over in order to try and figure out where he was.  
"I see that your adoptive parents weren't as successful as I would have hoped on developing your manners," Joe sighs in disapproval. "Perhaps, though, you would be so kind as to help me with a small family problem."  
That garners some interest from Mike. He turns a curious look to the man.  
"Oh, good, I have your attention again," Carroll smiles. "Now, if you would just tell me where your colleagues are keeping my wife? Claire and I have so much to talk about. It would mean a lot to me if you would indulge me with that small piece of information."  
Mike snorts, shaking his head a little as he looks away again in disgust. The grandfather clock ticks loudly in the room as the murderer patiently waits for an answer....When he doesn't get one and the agent resolutely remains silent, Joe speaks up again, "Why won't you tell me, Michael?"  
"That's Agent Weston to you," Mick bites out, the silent treatment becoming too hard to maintain.  
"Why must a father and son be at odds with each other?"  
"You're not my father."  
"By your own admission, I am."  
"Not in the way that matters."  
"How so?"  
"For one thing," Mike grins without any humor. "You almost got me killed."  
"That was before I knew I had borne you, Michael."  
"And what was the first thing you decided to do once you found out?" the agent pretends to laugh, anger flaring when the pain in his chest intensifies with each breath. "You have me kidnapped so that I can tell you where your wife is!"  
"I know the cliché of the evil step-mothers as well, I believe, as you do, my boy," Joe smiles cordially. "Trust me, Claire will open her arms to you just as easily as I have."  
"Not only did you have me taken, again, you had it done by one of the people who nearly killed me!"  
Silence looms heavily in the room. Roderick frowns at the agent as Joe's eyes widen just a second then his face smooths into a guarded expression.  
"So you are less mentally hindered on the fact that you were taken," Carroll says slowly. "And more personally offended that it was by one of your attackers?"  
"It's not easy to be at the mercy of a man who almost took your life," Mick glares at the follower. "Someone who looks smug and eager to take over this little gathering you have if you asked him. Someone I would be happy to strangle with my own hands should the chance arise."  
"That's interesting," Joe observes with a finger against his lips. "How often have you fantasized killing young Roderick, Michael?"  
The agent blinks, looks over to the man who has him at his mercy as he frowns at the question without an answer.  
"When your eyes close, do you think of him?" Carroll continues. "Do you imagine what it will feel like, to have his flesh against yours as you squeeze a steady pressure until his eyes roll to the back of his head and all you can see is the whites of his eyes?"  
"That doesn't always happen, though. Sometimes the eyes stay locked on yours until they no longer harbor the soul within." The cult leader crouches down to place a hand on the agent's knee. "Are you really prepared to take a human life, Michael?"  
"I've killed before," Mike answers thickly, not knowing why he was giving the man any sort of answer. There was something in his stare that was pulling the words out of his mouth.  
"From the barrel of a gun is far different then doing it with your own strength, my son," Joe smiles fondly at him. "To keep your hold strong even after your victim has stopped struggling. To make sure that death has truly touched him so that you might be freed."  
"Cut the cult crap," Mike snaps out of his daze, glare returning with full force. "I'm not one of your puppets. You can save the speeches for the sheep."  
"Would you kill for Ryan?"  
"What?"  
"Don't play dumb," Joe scolds lightly. "You are smarter than that, Michael. But I will humor you with a repeat of my question. Would you kill...for Ryan?"  
"I-no, what do you mean? He's part of my team! If he was in danger I-"  
"That's not what I'm asking and you know that," Carrol's voice lowers into a commanding tone. "My protagonist had earned himself a coveted place in your heart. My question to you, son, is if you would kill for HIM. If he asked you. If he told you it was necessary to stop me. To solve your little 'case'. Would you do it?"  
"No," Mike tries to answer firmly but the word feels like a lie on his tongue.  
Joe's smile lets him know that the man thought so as well. "We shall see, my boy."  
Roderick, who's hand had trailed to his gun during the talk of his possibly demise, frowns at the pair. 'What on earth are those two on about?'

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for the massive amount of "I don't care" when it comes to details. I know a good writer should do their due diligence, but I didn't want to. I'm sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna get a little dark. But, to be fair, the show already is that.

Ryan Hardy continues his silent string of curses as he watches the station's security feeds for the twelfth time in a row.  
Mike shows up. Sees the Sheriff. Chases after him, going out the back door.  
Then there's no sign of the kid.  
He decides to go out the back for a quick drink but before he can even pull out his small canister, he gets a call.  
"Yeah?" he growls into the receiver, not bothering to look for a caller ID.  
"Hello, Ryan," Joe's voice sounds pleased about something. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"  
"No, no," the agent grimaces. "In fact, I just stepped out for a moment of fresh air."  
"Try not to drink too heavily on the job, Ryan," his enemy remarks, displeased. "I need you to be your bright and intelligent self for the next part of our story."  
"Oh?" Ryan looks around to see if anyone is watching him as he absently asks. "What might that next part be, Joe?"  
"You'll see," Carroll chuckles. "In due time."  
"So, this is another one of your mocking calls then," the agent sighs in frustration. "Isn't it a little below you to be calling me all the time? Just to mock me?"  
"Well, if you'd be the smart little agent you could be and FIND me already, we could be having these talks face-to-face."  
That surprises Ryan. He hadn't thought the cult leader WANTED to be caught. He had assumed Joe would remain in hiding for as long as he could. At least until he finished 'his story'. Then again, most criminals, in some part of their brain, realize the need for capture. To be stopped.  
"You've grown silent, Ryan," Joe's voice breaks into the agent's thoughts. "What's going on in that intelligent mind of yours, I wonder?"  
"Just-" the agent curses for being so slow. The Sheriff's squad car is gone. That, plus the murderer's timing can only mean one thing. "You have Agent Weston."  
"Ah, yes, Michael is with me," Carroll sighs. "Our father son bonding time isn't going as well as I would like, Ryan. Do you have any suggestions for breaking the ice with long lost children?"  
"Let him go, Joe," Ryan asks carefully, keeping his tone even and un-begging. "You don't need him."  
"Do parents need their offspring?" the madman wonders aloud. "They are our lineage, surely, but what do they do for our own needs? You act like a father to the boy, Ryan. Do you feel a need for Michael?"  
"He's part of my team," the agent reminds the other man. "He's also your son, so you won't hurt him."  
"Won't I?"  
"You didn't hurt Joey."  
"I raised Joey."  
"No you didn't."  
"True," Joe relents. "I was robbed of that childhood as well as Micheal's. So many things have been taken from me, Ryan. Can you not sympathize with a father?"  
"If you really want to be a father, then do what's right for Mike." The feeling of refering to the cult leader as a father leaves a sour taste on the agent's tongue. "Let him go."  
"Mike," Carroll chuckles. "Yes, I do think that the next part of our story will flow quite nicely. I must say, I'm getting quite excited about it."  
"Joe!"  
Ryan's protests are met with the deafening sound of a dial tone.  
He resists the urge to throw the device to the ground, instead kicking at the door a few times to let out his frustrations.  
He has to tell the others about this. Parker will then want to know WHY Joe took the young agent. Ryan just hopes that the kid knowing where Claire was would be a good enough reason for them to believe he was taken.... 

\- - -

Joe closes his phone and looks over to his son still zip tied to the chair. The young man had been gagged my Emma right before Joe made his call. The young woman was too impetuous when it came to him. It would be annoying if it wasn't so endearing.  
He chases out his followers genially before locking the door for some proper alone time.

Joe pulls a chair in front of Mike and sits in it as he carefully looks the agent over once again.  
"Michael," he starts softly, leaning back into his chair to cross his legs as if they were about to discuss something, even though the agent would be unable to speak. "I must say, I was having a hard time seeing myself in you."  
Mike rolls his eyes and looks away from the cult leader.  
"I'm being honest with you, son," Joe interlaces his fingers and lays them in his lap. "I can see part of my appearance in Joey, of course, but you? No, you don't have much of me in you when it comes to looks."  
He waits a moment, watches as his son's eyes firmly remain focused on the floor instead of looking up at him.  
"Until I looked into your eyes."  
That snaps the agent's focus to him, curiosity winning out over the glare his boy was trying to maintain.  
"Yes," Joe grins, unlacing his fingers as he leans forward to point at his son's eyes. "There. Right there in those angry, blue eyes of yours. I see myself."  
He leans closer, nearly coming off his chair so that he can have as much of his face taking up the agent's view. "I see the gift."  
Joe gets up from the chair to remove the gag. He wants to hear his son's replies.  
"You're insane."  
Not very imaginative. "Denial will do you no good, Michael."  
"Agent Weston," the boy growls.  
"Michael," Joe holds the gag in one hand as he returns to his chair. "You don't have to pretend around me. I know the demons your fight with. The urge to kill. The desire to free yourself from the cage of mediocrity."  
"I'm nothing like you!" Mike bites out angrily. "You're a monster! A murderer!"  
"And what are you?"  
"I'm a special agent of the FBI-"  
"No, who ARE you?" Joe repeats more firmly.  
"What?" Mike frowns, confused.  
"Your title as a federal agent is just a mask," Carroll explains. "I'm asking who YOU are. The real you. The man behind the mask of presumed justice."  
"I'm the guy who's going to help put you away."  
"Why are you so eager to put your own father away for doing his work?"  
"You kill people," Mike shakes his head. "That's not 'work'! That's murder! Plain and simple."  
"Murder is not simple, Michael," Joe frowns, disappointed. "Murder is a thing of beauty. You cannot just give it away like a trifle. It need to be coveted. A treasured action."  
"Call a cat a cow and it'll still be a cat," the agent scoffs. "You're a killer. A madman that needs to be put away before he can hurt anyone else."  
"I am no different from any other man," Carroll remarks, coolly. "The only difference between me and your beloved Agent Hardy is the fact I don't hold back my need to kill."  
"Ryan is completely opposite of you."  
"What has incurred such blinding loyalty to a man you barely know?"  
"He caught you the first time," Mike swallows around the sudden tightness in his throat. "No one else could. They doubted him. But he found the evidence. He caught you."  
"If Ryan were faced with the decision of ending my life or letting me go free, which do you think he would take?"  
The agent slumps in his chair, unsure of what to answer.  
"Yes, that's what I thought." Joe gets up, walks to the doors and opens them. "Roderick! Could you please come in here?"

A few minutes later, the pretend lawman enters the room with a pinched smile. "Yes, Joe?"  
"Would you be so kind as to remove your gun belt?" Joe asks his follower pleasantly as he re-locks the door.  
"Why?" Roderick asks as he slowly unbuckles the belt.  
"I'm trying to prove a point to my son," Carroll sighs, looking over to the agent. "But I think that a hands-on lesson is in order for things to actually start moving forwards."  
"What kind of lesson?" The gun belt is off now, hanging in the man's loose grip.  
Joe takes the belt and pats the man on the shoulder, "You'll see."  
He grabs a letter opener from off his desk before going over to Mike to cut his zip ties.  
"Joe!" Roderick protests, but his leader puts up a hand to stop him as he draws the weapon from the belt and points it to the agent.  
"Michael," Joe makes a motion with the gun for the boy to stand; he does. "I'm going to supply you with a scenario and I need your honest answer."  
Mike nods, confused and a little scared but at least grateful for a chance to escape now that he's no longer tied down.  
"Roderick has a back up pistol on his ankle," Carroll points out, keeping his eyes directed at his son. "In a moment, I'm going to tell him to draw that weapon and shoot you."  
"What?" Mike's eyes widen in shock as he takes an involuntary step back. "You brought me here to kill me?"  
"No," Joe shakes his head, checking the weapons' barrel before dropping the clip into his hand. "There is exactly one bullet left. Enough to stop young Roderick from ending your life, but not enough for you to also end mine."  
Roderick has already pulled the extra weapon, letting it rest at his side as he watches the two carefully. "Are you sure about this, Joe?"  
"He attacked you, Michael," Carroll ignores his follower as he keeps his focus on his son. "He wanted to end your life. I never told him to do that. I just asked him to get Claire's location from you. Roderick decided that meant trying to kill you."  
Joe puts the weapon in Mike's hand. "Don't let him kill you, Michael."  
The cult leader takes a few steps back. "Roderick?"  
"Yes?"  
"Please shoot the young agent."  
Roderick lifts his arm to fire, but Mike is faster. The agent hits the sheriff in the shoulder, effectively stopping him from firing while not killing him.  
Joe slowly claps his hands as he walks over to his man. He picks up the dropped weapon and smiles pityingly at Roderick's groaning, squirming body.  
The cult leader looks over to the agent, "Now, finish him."  
"What?" Mike blinks out of his shock, body shaking on the inside from fear and adrenaline. "I'm not going to do that!"  
There's a banging on the locked doors.  
"Joe! Joe!" Emma's voice shouts in worry from the other end.  
"Everything's fine!" Joe assures them, eyes locked on his son's. "My son and I are having a lesson. Please remain outside."  
Roderick starts to push himself away from his leader, one hand trying to keep the blood from pouring out of the wound from his shoulder as he grimaces with each movement. Joe points his weapon at Mike, "Take Roderick's life, Michael. Free yourself from bondage. Embrace your gift."  
"I'm not going to do it," Mike's voice is weaker than he wants it to be. "I'm not going to kill him."  
"Then I'll kill you."  
"No you won't."  
"Why not?"  
"Because I'm your son."  
"You don't want to be my son. So you might as well not be."  
Mike looks over to the injured man still trying to make his escape. He wildly wonders why he won't just get up and RUN. He swallows, "Then shoot me."  
Joe sighs, shooting Roderick in the leg to stop his progress. The follower screams out in pain as he curls in on himself. "I grow tired of this, Michael."  
"Joe!" Emma starts banging on the doors again. "Joe! What's going on?! Joe!"  
"STAY OUT!" their leader barks, startling everyone. He clears his throat and lowers his voice, "Michael, please. End this before more people have to get hurt."  
"I don't care if you drag every last one of your brainwashed minions in here and have them try to kill me," Mike growls. "I'm not going to take their lives!"  
"If you don't kill Roderick, then I will have one of my followers bomb the police station."  
Mike nearly drops his empty gun in shock. "What?"  
"It would be easy," Joe smiles. "Just wrap up a piece of evidence for Ryan, have one of my people who have 'seen the error of their ways' bring it to him at the station and blow it up before anyone can figure out what it really is."  
"You wouldn't."  
"I won't even care if it actually gets into the building, Michael," Carroll remarks. "Even in an open area like a park, or a bus station, or maybe just putting it in the local market. The body count will be far more than one."  
Mike looks over to the wounded man on the ground, curled in on himself as he tries to breath through the pain.  
Joe walks over to the agent and takes the empty weapon from his lax hand. He leans in to whisper near his son's ear, "Wrap your hands around his throat and find out if reality lives up to your fantasies."  
Stiffly, almost robotically, Mike steps over to Roderick, arms slightly outstretched and hands open as he gets close enough to loom over him.  
"Roderick has killed before," Joe's voice drifts over to him softly. "He tried to kill you. He would have today, just moments before, if you hadn't drawn faster."  
Mike kneels next to the other man, knees soaking up the blood greedily as he hesitates. Roderick looks up at him with a grimacing glare.  
"If you kill me," the follower growls through a sharp pain. "Your fed pals will arrest you along with Joe and the rest of his followers."  
"Only you and I will know what happened in this room, Michael," Joe's voice is right behind him, on top of him, suffocating him. "Kill Roderick. End his suffering. Release his soul and free your own."  
Mike's hands wrap around Roderick's neck on their own. He stares at them as they tighten.  
'I have to do this. Joe will kill innocent people if I don't. This man isn't innocent. He's hurt people, lied and most likely murdered several people in cold blood.' Mike holds on with all his power as his victim squirms underneath him, pushing and hitting at him as he tries to draw breath.  
"That's it," Joe's hands touch Mike's shoulders. "Watch as the light fades from his eyes and he leaves us for another place."  
Roderick slowly stops fighting, stops hitting, stops squirming. His eyes close and he becomes motionless...  
But Mike can't get his hands to let go.

After an eternity of staring at nothing and just holding on, Mike feels Joe's hands move from his shoulders to his hands, easing them away from Roderick's neck and helping his son to his feet.  
"Very good, Michael," Joe congratulates him softly, rubbing at his back as he pulls him into a hug. "I'm proud of you."  
Mike feels too dead inside to be angry.  
'I just killed someone. In cold blood. I'm just like him. I am Joe Carroll's son.'  
Tears streak down Mike's cheeks as realization hits him hard. 'I'm a murderer.'  
"Shh..." Joe continues to rub at his son's back as he breaks down in his arms. "Everything will be alright, my boy. Don't you worry."

-


	3. Chapter 3

It's impossible to keep Mike's abduction from the other agents, especially Parker, but the reason for it being another attempt at finding Claire is easily accepted and Ryan is at least thankful for that.  
Now he just needs to find the kid and rescue him from his psychotic father.  
As he takes another swig of watery vodka, Ryan thinks back to when he first looked up the young agent. Back when he was first poking holes into Joe Carroll's life. He had tracked down Michael Weston, watched him from afar off, wondering where he would go or what he would do and, most importantly, if he knew who his father was.  
All outside appearances made it look like he was unaware of his lineage. When the kid ended up joining the hunt for Joe, Ryan was secretly wary of the kid, but all thoughts of him being a follower were wiped form his mind when Mike was taken the first time.  
He curses as he tosses the empty bottle into the trash. Joe had Mike. There are far too many things the maniac could be doing to the kid, most of them gave Ryan nightmares and sent shudders down his spine.  
He had to get the kid back. He needed to save Mike from the hands of his nemesis.

...

Far too many murders later, Ryan finally tracks Joe down. The manor where the psycho was hiding out stands tall and foreboding as he sneaks closer to it in the dark. He had come alone, not wanting to wait for back-up and risk losing his chance to save Mike. He just wanted to get the kid out. Then he could call in reinforcements to take down Joe and his murdering minions.  
He ducks low behind a bush as two patrol men walk by. He puts a hand to his heart, breathes through his fear, and peaks through the window.  
Luck is on his side, because he's somehow managed to find the room with Mike in it. It's even on the first floor!  
Ryan frowns. The kid isn't looking too good. His face is ashen and he isn't tied up. Maybe he's injured? The agent hopes not.  
Slowly, carefully, and as quietly as he can, Ryan opens the window and sneaks into the manor. Mike doesn't stop staring into space from his chair. Yet another bad sign.  
Ryan closes the window again and walks as quickly as he can to the young agent's side.  
"Mike?" he whispers to the kid as he checks him over for wounds. Other than the healing ones from the attack days ago, he can't find any. "Mike!"  
The kid blinks, eyes turning to Ryan as they try to focus on him. Maybe the kid was drugged?  
"You okay?" Ryan asks him when it looks like he has the boy's attention. "Can you walk? We gotta get out of here."  
"Leave me."  
The older man nearly collapses in shock. The two words from the other man are so broken and lost it tears his heart in half. What had Joe done?  
"Like heck I'm going to leave you, kid," he growls lowly, eyes darting around to look for someone hiding in the room or cameras. He looks back to Mike. "You're coming with me."  
"I deserve to be here," Mike mumbles, eyes wet as he turns his head to look away. "I'm a murderer. I'm no different than Joe. I deserve-"  
"Cut the crap!" Ryan hisses, wishing he could knock some sense into the kid but deciding against it in favor of pulling the young agent to his feet. "Joe might be your dad, but you're nothing like him."  
"I killed Roderick!" the kid's voice rises too loudly and Ryan hushes at him to keep quiet. Mike lowers his voice a little as he continues. "Joe brought him in the room. We both had guns and I shot him."  
"Sounds like self defense to me," Ryan grumbles, pulling the kid to the window.  
"The bullet didn't kill him," Mike insists, pulling out of the older man's grasp. "I shot him in the shoulder. Non-lethal. I finished him off by choking him to death."  
"You decide that all on your own?" Hardy isn't convinced. He's seen the kid in action. There's no doubt in his mind that the boy was leaving important details out. "Michael Weston, proud member of the FBI, just decided to start choking people?"  
"Well, no..." Mike looks away. HA! Ryan knew it. "Joe said that, said that he'd kill people if I didn't do it."  
"Then there you have it," Ryan grabs the kid again and pulls him the rest of the way to the window, pushes the boy against the wall to take a peak and see if it's clear. "You were forced into doing it. That will go a long way in your trail."  
"It's still murder," the young agent insists, weakly pushing against the hand on his chest. "Even coerced, I still decided to take another man's life."  
"Did you want to?" Hardy steps away from the window to look the kid in the eyes. "Did you want to kill Roderick? Hm? Did you enjoy choking the life out of him? Did it make you happy? Do you want to do it again?"  
Mike furiously shakes his head, mouth opening but unable to work.  
"Joe put you into an impossible situation," Ryan tries to smile at the kid encouragingly. He's not sure if he succeeded. "You're not a killer, Mike. You're just a guy with one of the world's worst fathers."

The young agent's eyes grow large as the door opens...

Joe Carroll, with four followers at his side, stands in the doorway, a cruel smile on his lips.  
"Ryan!" the murderer greets the agent with a cheerful tone as his followers enter the room with him. "What a pleasant surprise! I was wondering when you'd show up."  
Joe looks over to Mike. "Are you and my son having a good little chat?"  
"The entire FBI taskforce is on its way here, Joe," Ryan warns the man, one arm in front of Mike as if to protect him. "Let us go now before things get complicated."  
"No," Carroll shakes his head. "I don't think anyone in the FBI is coming, my friend. I think that you came here alone, the knight in shining armor to my boy, and that no one even knows where you are."  
The agent frowns, cursing himself for his ego. If only he had at least sent a text to Parker before sneaking into the manor. It would have given him all the time he needed to get Mike out and provide back-up when something like THIS happened.  
"I'll have your gun now, Ryan," Joe nods to one of his followers to get the weapon. "And your extra piece as well, if you would be so kind?"  
Ryan hands both pieces over, hoping the murderer didn't know about the small knife in his coat pocket.  
"Michael," Carroll addresses his son next. "Why don't you come over here now, son?"  
When the kid moves to do just that, Ryan steps to block him even more and tells him firmly, "You don't have to do that. You're fine right here."  
"Do not interfere with family issues, Ryan," Joe scolds the other man with slightly narrowed eyes. "At least, no more than you already have."  
"I won't allow you to turn him into one of your followers!" Ryan barks back to the man, anger flaring at the memory of the kid's broken words. "He's not a cold blooded killer. No matter what you might trick him into doing."  
"You have had quite a lot of time to talk," the cult leader frowns. "It pains me to think that you'd assume I'm doing anything other than freeing my son."  
"By holding him captive and forcing him to murder?"  
"Did I hold my hands over his?"  
"You gave him no choice!"  
"Put in the same situation, would you have killed Roderick?"  
'Yes!' rings loudly in Ryan's head but he hesitates. Would he have killed the man parading around as a Sheriff in order to prevent others from getting hurt? Or would he have called Joe's bluff instead?  
"Your hesitation tells me all I need to know," Joe smiles again, looking over to his son. "As well as it does Michael."  
Ryan looks over his shoulder to the kid. Mike is looking away, his face distorted in pain and self-hatred.  
"I don't know because I wasn't there," Ryan tells the kid more than Joe. "But I probably would have done the same thing as Agent Weston."  
"You 'probably' would have called my bluff just as well," Carroll points out plainly. "Think what you want, but my boy has a gift. He's as good a killer as the rest of us. He belongs here. With his family."  
"This is not a family."  
"Michael," Joe takes a few steps closer. Ryan stands directly in front of the kid now. "Son, come with me now, please."  
"Ryan," Mike puts his hand on the agent's shoulder. "It's okay."  
"I'm not handing you over without a fight," Hardy growls through clenched teeth. "In fact, I'm a little ticked off that you'd cave in so easily, Mike. I thought you were better than that."  
"He is better than you think," Carroll's tone reeks of impatience. "His mind goes beyond those petty walls of federal rules and regulations. He needs time with his father so that his true potential can be reached."

Before Ryan can retort, the room is flooded with light and the entire FBI taskforce floods the manor, taking down followers and arresting everyone they see.  
When a group of agents arrive in the room with Joe, Parker is taking point. She personally cuffs Carroll, telling him his rights with a confident smirk.

As the cult is being herded out of the building, Parker approaches the duo still clinging to the wall by the window.  
"How?" Ryan's eyes are wide in amazement at the female agent.  
"Like I wouldn't put a tracker on you after you started acting squirrely," Debra rolls her eyes. She worriedly looks to the younger agent. "You okay?"  
"Yeah," Mike nods his head as his voice shakes a little.  
"He'll be alright," Hardy tries to cover for the kid with an arrogant smile. "He just got a little shaken up by Joe's mind games. Nothing our wonder boy can't get over."  
"I'm sure your reports will be an interesting read," Parker rubs at Mike's arm encouragingly before turning away from them to bark at another agent, "Make sure the perimeter is checked several miles out from this location. I want everyone detained for questioning, no matter how 'innocent' they look."  
She leaves the two men alone as she walks out of the room to continue bossing everyone around. Mike lets out an uneasy breath once she's out of earshot and Ryan turns to the kid.  
"ARE you going to be alright?" he asks quietly, wary of anyone overhearing.  
"No. Yes? I don't know," Mike sighs, rubbing at his face. "I've got to come clean. They'll kick me out for this but...Maybe I won't go to prison?"  
"They'll have me knocking down their doors if they try," Ryan assures the kid as he pats him on the back. "You've been through a lot. I want you to tell me everything that happened, but that can wait till later."  
"Yeah, okay," the young agent takes a deep breath. "Can we get out of here now?"  
"Please," Hardy takes the kid by the shoulder and leads him out of the building, shielding him from onlookers or curious agents.

 

Mike never gets to confess... Joe finally does something right. He takes the fall for killing Roderick. There's no evidence against Mike to prosecute him and without any witnesses, no one is pointing the finger at the young agent. Only Joe, Ryan, and Mike know what happened in that room now.  
None of the men are interested in telling the truth.

 

....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I own nothing.)


End file.
